Let The Darkness Come
by Hikari Kame
Summary: If you had to ask Atem what made him different, he would tell you two things. First, he was tasked with capturing all the Duel Spirits and sealing them back into Duel Monster Cards, and second, he hated his grandfather Yugi Muto. (Sequel to Let My Light Fade. Rewriting in Progress.)
1. Chapter 1

Let The Darkness Come

Chapter 1

_Atem was getting tired of chasing his classmates around. In preschool they were all bigger than he was, and his legs were so short. He sat down on the grass to watch the others. _

_He heard a rustle behind him and he turned around. He stared in amazement as a strange brown growth from the bushes around the fence started wriggling and jerking around. Slowly, Atem tiptoed over and squinted at the strange thing. It had fuzzy brown fur and was somewhat round. _

_Atem hesitated for a moment and then plunged his hands to grab the brown fuzzy thing with reckless abandon. With one almighty tug, he pulled out a brown fuzzy animal with green leathery paws and sharp claws. Little Atem stared straight into the creature's bright green eyes and the creature stared back. _

_Then the animal chirped and bounced off. Atem scrambled after it, hardly even noticing that he had left his teacher and classmates far behind. All he could do was chase after the creature as it bounced farther and farther away. _

_He didn't know how long he ran for, but eventually the creature stopped to wait for him. Atem spent a few moments to catch his breath, and then reached out his hands for the creature. To his amazement, the animal let him pick it up and bring it close to his face. _

"_Kuriboh." The name popped into his head like magic. Kuriboh giggled and then shrunk into a bright gold light before vanishing. Atem looked around for a few moments to see if Kuriboh would come back, but then he noticed how dark the sky had become. _

_Where was he? How long had he been running around for? His parents were surely very worried, especiall his darling grandpa. As Atem thought more and more about his grandpa's sad face, he too started tearing up. Before long he was sobbing and calling for his grandpa. Surely his parents would find him. Surely his grandpa would find him. _

_But soon the evening darkness became night and Atem was certain he had been forgotten. He sat down on the sidewalk and cried and cried. What should he do?_

_Then a man's arms grabbed him from behind and pulled him into a hug. Atem recognized him immediately. _

"_Grandpa!" Atem wailed into Yugi's shoulder. Yugi clung to him tightly and started walking home. _

"_Where were you Atem?" Yugi asked. _

_Atem sniffled pathetically. "I was chasing Kuriboh and got lost." He said sadly. _

_His grandpa stopped. "Kuriboh?"_

_Atem nodded. "Furry and brown – and round like a ball, with green claws. It wanted to play tag so I played tag, but I got lost." Atem started crying again. _

"_Do not ever run off Atem, do you hear me?" Yugi said harshly. _

_Atem snapped his head up. "I wanted to see Kuriboh - " Atem wailed._

"_No! You must never run off on your own!" Yugi ordered. All the way home, Atem kept crying. He hated disappointing his grandpa._

* * *

"Atem. Get up." Fifteen-year-old Atem snapped awake to the sound of his grandpa's voice. He groaned and pulled the covers over his head.

"I know you're not up yet. Get up." Yugi said outside his room. "Now, Atem."

Atem shuffled out of bed and pulled on a sweatshirt. He wrenched the door open and stomped past Yugi without even looking at him.

His grandpa didn't look at him either.

"Good morning!" Nebetah said brightly to Atem. He smiled at her, and then frowned when his mother grimaced at the sight of Yugi.

"Morning, mom." Atem said pointedly. She gave him a brief hug before pushing him to the table with his breakfast in hand.

"We're leaving now so Grandpa's going to take you to school, ok?" Nebetah said. Atem was shocked.

"You promised me that you'd take me to school!" Atem chased after his mom. She sighed as she hurridly stuffed her keys into her purse. "You promised!"

"Honey, I know you and your grandpa don't get along right now, but it's just a few minutes to school! Just today, alright?"

_He's not my grandpa._

"You've said that this whole week, Mom. You promised me that if I behaved around him you'd take me to school!"

She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll try Atem, but I can't make it to work on time if I take you to school. And you never get up early."

Atem ran after her as she made a break for the garage. "What if I promise to get up an hour early? Can you take me then?"

"We'll talk about this tonight. Be good!" Nebetah yelled back.

Atem sighed and turned around to see his grandpa standing in the hallway. "Be ready in half an hour." Yugi ordered.

Atem gritted his teeth and marched back into the living room.

* * *

Yugi parked his car on the corner to the school. Atem muttered thanks and tried to make a break for it.

"Tell me your dream."

_Shit,_ Atem thought. _How does he always know?_

"I'm waiting." His grandpa said.

Atem slumped back into his seat. "It was a…huge black horse. Looked pretty interesting. I hope it turns out to be more of a challenge than the others." Atem said casually.

Yugi turned his head and shot him a death-glare. Atem wanted to pee his pants. "It took you three tries to get Curse of Dragon last time and it nearly fried you to death." He said harshly. Atem glared down at his pants instead.

"That monster will be different from the other ones you've captured. Don't go after it without me, understand?"

Atem bristled. What was up with Yugi telling him what to do? He was the one with the powers, not him! He was getting really annoyed with Yugi's meddling.

"I got it, you don't need - "

"Atem!" Yugi yelled. Atem froze in his seat. "Do not disobey me."

Atem threw himself out of Yugi's car and ran to school. When he knew Yugi couldn't see him anymore, he rubbed his eyes. Why couldn't Yugi have more faith in him? Why wasn't he ever good enough?

Ever since he was little, Atem loved Duel Monsters. He spent all his pocket money on the latest and greatest Duel Monsters cards, and constantly played with his friends. But he had a stronger connection to Duel Monsters than most people. Atem not only could see Duel Spirits, he had to capture them. So far he'd gotten Kuriboh, Beaver Warrior, Celtic Guardian, Feral Imp, Silver Fang, Koumori Dragon, Mystical Elf and Curse of Dragon.

"Atem!" Mana yelled at him once he entered the school. Mana and Mahad were his best friends since childhood, and Atem was glad to see her. She always managed to put a smile on his face.

"What's wrong, Mr. Grumpy face?" Mana asked. "Did you fight with your grandpa again?"

Atem sat down. "No. It was actually almost pleasant, by our standards." He replied.

"Your standards are very low." Mahad had also arrived at this point. Atem smiled at him once he sat down.

"Who knows? Maybe I'm just going through a rebellious phase." Atem said sarcastingly.

"Like what? You'll stop wearing your school uniform everywhere? You'll ditch class for once?" Akefia said.

Atem turned around and swatted his third best friend/frenemy. "Asshole."

"Arrogant brat. What'd your bitchy grandpa say this time?" Akefia shot back.

"Nothing. He was his usual stick-in-the-mud self this morning. Remember how I told you guys my mom promised to take me to school last time there was a fight?" His friends all nodded at him. "Well, turns out she's too busy with work and meetings to actually do it, so Grandpa still has to take me. It's driving me crazy."

"Your grandpa is so fucking possessive. He's not even your real grandpa, where does he get off acting like this?" Akefia muttered.

Atem wanted to say something, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to defend Yugi or agree with Akefia. In the end the teacher arrived, and Atem put Yugi out of his mind for now.

* * *

It was lunchtime when Akefia finally asked. "So did you dream of another monster?"

Atem nodded. "Yeah I did. It was really fuzzy though, just a black horse."

"Nightmare Horse?" Mahad asked. Atem shook his head.

"I don't know any black horses…" Mana said thoughtfully.

"Well, at least we'll get a chance to kick ass!" Akefia said excitedly. His friends all had their own duel spirits inside of them. Mana and Mahad had magicians while Akefia had something that looked like a cross between an angel and a Naga.

"You guys are going to wait for me this time, right? You'll let me have a go first!" Mana pleaded.

Akefia snorted. "I'm not waiting for you! I want to get stronger!"

"You can try first Mana," Atem said soothingly before shooting Akefia a death-glare. "But we all have to work together, ok? Grandpa said this one would be harder than most."

"Even Curse of Dragon?" Mahad asked. "I almost got lit on fire for that one."

"And it flew!" Mana added. "The only one of us who could fly was Akefia here."

"You're welcome." Akefia said smugly.

"We'll go search for it after school today, but keep an eye out for my grandpa. He told me to wait for him this morning."

"I swear that guy has you tagged." Akefia growled. "How else does he always find us?"

"I like him!" Mana jumped in.

"Me too. He's very supportive Atem." Mahad added.

"He makes me feel like crap for everything, how is that supportive?" Atem asked.

"Maybe if you didn't try to pick a fight with him every time - " Mahad tried.

Akefia cut him off. "What, so Atem should just roll over and take it? He's not a robot!"

"I'm just saying, if you can't deal with him right now, maybe you need to try a different method! You still haven't tried talking to him properly have you?" Mahad argued.

Atem looked down. "I haven't found the time." He said weakly.

"Atem, he's always with you. You have nothing but time." Mahad sighed.

"I just want some space from him, how is that too much to ask for?" Atem said heatedly.

"Can we not do this? We never get a quiet lunch…" Mana complained.

"Come on," Atem said to his friends. "It's almost time for class again anyway." He stuffed the rest of the lunch his grandpa made him into his mouth and walked off.

* * *

"Alright Atem, lead the way." Akefia said after they left school.

"I'm not sure if we'll find it today…" Atem said hesitantly. "I can't sense anything right now."

"You're definitely not going to find anything just standing there." Akefia shot back.

"Maybe we should wait for your grandpa." Mahad suggested.

"Well Atem? You want to wait for your grandpa to save you like always?" Akefia goaded. Atem glared at him.

"Let's go." He said bravely. Mahad sighed in disappointment behind him.

"Try and remember your dream." Mana said helpfully.

_A black horse, a black horse…_

Atem started walking faster.

_a black horse rearing, shrouded in shadows_

He began running just as the streets around him changed to the world in between.

_…but what was above it?_

Then Atem heard it, the rhythm of hooves on the ground. It was faint at first and then slowly grew louder and louder.

"Akefia!" Atem yelled. "It's behind us!"

"DIABOUND!" Akefia yelled and with a burst of white light his winged naga flew out, muscles rippling and eyes glinting dangerously. Atem quickly pulled Mana to the side just as a cloud of darkness rushed at them. With an almighty yell, Diabound swung his fist at the darkness. The dark rider swerved violently to avoid Diabound's fist before roaring in return. Atem saw the rider lift his arm and then shove it forward, causing a sudden cutting wind. It sliced through the trees right next to where Atem and Mana were hiding.

"Gaia the Fierce Knight." Atem whispered. Just as he said it, Gaia turned to him and raised his spear again.

"Do something Atem!" Akefia yelled.

Atem jumped up. "CELTIC GUARDIAN!" He yelled. With a burst of darkness Celtic Guardian appeared.

"Mana, Mahad!" He yelled. His friends darted into the shadows. He was now facing Gaia alone with Celtic Guardian.

"Attack, Celtic Guardian!" Atem yelled and the elf threw himself forward. He swung valiantly at the rider but Gaia barely raised his spear before he smacked Celtic Guardian off his feet and into the trees behind him.

"Uh oh." Atem whispered. Gaia backed him his horse and positioned his spears forward again.

"Atem!" Mahad yelled. Gaia shouted his war cry and charged ahead at Atem. Wind from his spears shot out and decimated the area around Atem before Gaia himself charged right through. Gaia turned around in confusion.

Atem's body rippled before huge silk hats appeared where Atem had once been standing.

"Thanks Mahad!" Atem called. He had just barely avoided Gaia's attack. Above him, Mahad's Magician of Illusions floated in midair. When Gaia met its eyes, it swung its staff menacingly. Mahad hid in a tree nearby, focused intently on keeping his hats in place.

"Mana, your turn!" Mahad yelled. Mana and her Magician Girl burst out from the trees. "Attack! Magician Girl!" She yelled. Her ka shot a blast of purple energy from her staff and hit Gaia in the chest, making him stumble backwards a bit.

"Keep it up Mana!" Atem yelled. He had to summon Curse of Dragon. He started focusing on the image of Curse of Dragon and felt a wave of relief as magic curled off his hands.

_'I can do this, I can do this,'_ Atem chanted in his head. Just then, Gaia charged at Mana and her magician, causing her to jump to the side. With her concentration broke, her magician disappeared.

"Akefia!" Mahad called. Magician of Illusions and Diabound both shot bursts of light at Gaia the Fierce Knight. Gaia roared and his image flickered.

"I'm ready now!" Atem yelled to his friends. He focused his glowing eyes at Gaia, who was struggling to recover from the attacks now, and raised both hands to the sky.

"Come forth, CURSE OF DRAGON!" Atem yelled, and released the magic from his core. Golden light shot from his body and reformed in the air to create a very familiar-looking dragon.

The kids were very familiar to Curse of Dragon too. It took one look at Gaia the Fierce Knight, one look at Atem, and then noticed Diabound in the back. It immediately roared and shot off towards Diabound.

"Wait!" Atem cried. "You're fighting the wrong guy! It's this one! It's Gaia!" He yelled in vain.

"Atem!" Akefia yelled in fear. Diabound tried valiantly to shield him from Curse of Dragon's blasts but once the first fireball hit, Diabound disappeared and Akefia was left running and screaming for his life.

Atem started panicking, and in his head he could hear his grandpa scolding him.

_You're not ready yet._

_You're not strong enough yet. _

_You were supposed to wait for me._

To their horror Curse of Dragon and Gaia the Fierce Knight had teamed up now. His friends were running to him in utter terror, Gaia and the dragon hot on their heels.

'I can't give up!' Atem thought. "Curse of Dragon!" He yelled again, and he pushed all his doubts aside to focus all his willpower on Curse of Dragon.

"Attack Gaia the Fierce Knight!" He yelled. Curse of Dragon finally turned away from the kids, but then –

Arms grabbed Atem from behind and dragged him back towards safety. "Grandpa!" Atem yelled.

"I told you to wait for me!" Yugi yelled back. Atem was thrown back towards his friends while Yugi stalked forward.

"Wait, Grandpa!" Atem yelled desperately. "I can control Curse of Dragon – I can! Just wait!"

But his grandpa ignored him and Atem's heart sank as Yugi called out, "Gandora, The Dragon of Destruction!" The huge black and red dragon appeared out of nowhere, larger than both Curse of Dragon and Gaia the Fierce Knight.

"Wait! Grandpa! Wait!" Atem yelled again.

"BOUNDLESS GIGA RAYS!" Yugi shouted, and the world was awash with burning red light.

When the smoke cleared, Yugi grabbed Atem by the elbow and led the kids back to the normal world. Atem peeked up at his grandpa.

Yugi met his eyes. "We need to talk." He said gravely.


	2. Chapter 2

Let The Darkness Come

Chapter 2

The ride was deafeningly silent. Yugi barely ground out a polite goodbye to Atem's friends before herding Atem into his car and driving off. Atem stared out the window and tried not to cry. He had gotten so close to beating Gaia the Fierce Knight! If only Yugi had waited just a few more minutes; but the second Gandora appeared Atem knew that his chance was gone. He would have to wait until Gaia appeared to him again.

Atem tried to think about what to say to Yugi. He wanted to tell Yugi not to leap to his defense at the first sign of trouble, otherwise he'd never learn. He wanted to tell Yugi to give him some space so he could just breathe sometimes. He wanted to tell Yugi not to be so scared of Atem getting hurt all the time.

But as Atem tried to ignore Yugi in the corner of his eye, his courage failed him. What he really wanted to do was sit down his grandpa and make him talk.

_Why are you really here? Why do you care so much? Why do you look at me with such a sad face all the time? Why don't you trust me?_

Yugi parked the car and Atem surrendered to his fate.

_What do you want out of me?_

"Go to the living room. I will join you shortly." Yugi said. It was almost gentle, the way he said it. Atem wasn't sure if that was better or worse than Yugi just yelling at him.

Atem kicked off his shoes and dragged himself in the house while his grandpa closed the garage door and disappeared into his room. Atem sighed. He decided to go get some juice before he got chewed out again. If Atem was going to get in a fight again, he wanted to be hydrated for it.

"Atem!" His father called from the kitchen. Atem threw his backpack aside and rushed into the kitchen before tackling Aknamkanon around the waist.

"You're getting big now!" Aknamkanon laughed as he hugged his son back. His work in international relations meant that he was usually gone for months at a time. He would always try to call his family, but it wasn't the same as being here in person. Atem always treasured his time with his parents.

"When did you get back? How long are you staying?" Atem babbled. Nebetah had gone over to hug them too.

"I transferred back so I can live at home again. How's that sound Atem?" Aknamkanon asked. Atem cheered and hugged his dad even harder.

"I'm so glad you're staying!" Atem cried.

"Not going to get sick of me in a week, are you?" Aknamkanon teased.

Atem shook his head. "Never!" God, he missed his dad.

"Aknamkanon…" His grandpa said behind them. Yugi had finally noticed the commotion.

"Yugi!" Aknamkanon greeted happily before enveloping the older man in a hug too. Yugi also smiled at him. "Finally you're starting to look older. I was wondering when your hairline would start receding."

Aknamkanon laughed jovially. "Wait till you start shrinking! Then you'd be glad to just worry about balding!" Atem felt a spike of jealousy. Why couldn't he get along with Yugi like that?

"It'll be nice to see my family everyday." Aknamkanon said casually.

"You're staying?" Yugi said hopefully.

"I've finally transferred back. They don't need me over there. I'm happy – I could use a rest!" Aknamkanon joked before he turned back to Atem and tried to pick him up.

"Dad!" Atem protested as he was lifted, arms and legs flailing everywhere.

"You're so heavy now!" Aknamkanon groaned before putting Atem back on the ground.

"I'm fifteen now Dad!" Atem complained as he straightened his clothes.

"Still a kid." Aknamkanon and Yugi said at the same time.

"Hey!" Aknamkanon looked at Nebetah. "Why don't we all go out to eat? My treat!" Atem and Nebetah cheered.

"Alright, let's go now then, because I'm starving." Aknamkanon linked his arm with Nebetah and strode off. Atem turned around to follow them but his grandpa's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"We'll take later, Atem." Yugi said. Atem nodded distractedly and ran after his parents.

Yugi sighed, grabbed his jacket, and followed behind.

* * *

"So Atem, how's everything?" Aknamkanon asked. "I'm sorry I missed our last call."

Atem stopped stuffing his face for a second to answer him. "It's fine," he managed. "I know you were busy."

Aknamkanon exhaled. "I'll be glad to get a break from politics, to be honest."

"Hmm, I don't know…" Nebetah teased. "You might need your diplomatic skills at home too."

Aknamkanon frowned. "Why?" Both Yugi and Atem refused to meet his eyes. "You guys are still fighting?"

"Not fighting…" Yugi started.

"…Just disagreements." Atem said. "It's fine though, don't worry - "

"We've most worked it out. We understand each other, right Atem?" Yugi continued. Atem nodded.

"Well, ok…if you two are sure…" Aknamkanon said thoughtfully. Atem wondered if his grandpa was just as embarrassed as he was right now.

_Probably not, _Atem thought._ Yugi would never do something so normal as be embarrassed._

"How's school then? Everything ok? How are your friends?" Aknamkanon asked, and Atem gratefully moved to much happier and lighthearted topics.

It took two hours for Atem to realize that besides those two sentences, Yugi did not speak at all the whole dinner.

* * *

Atem was just falling asleep when he heard his parents talking in the living room. He sat up and strained his ears. They seemed quite serious. Well, he wouldn't be a proper teenager if he didn't go eavesdrop, would he?

Atem quietly snuck out of bed and opened his bedroom door so he could hear better. He heard the telltale squeak of people sitting down in the living room sofa. Yugi would be reading his nighttime newspaper and would look up to see Atem's parents staring at him.

Looks like Yugi would be having a talk with someone.

"My friend, I can't believe that you and Atem really don't get along," Aknamkanon said clearly. Neither of his parents were good at speaking quietly. Atem and Yugi were much better at that.

After a few moments, Atem heard Yugi. "It's complicated, Aknamkanon."

"Nebetah told me you two are always fighting." Aknamkanon prodded.

"The best I can hope for is for them to not talk." Nebetah added helpfully. Atem winced.

"Is it about his…powers?" Aknamkanon asked.

"…Yes." Yugi answered. "He…is getting stronger now, but his tasks are getting harder too, and he lacks discipline. I worry about his safety."

"My friend," Aknamkanon replied. "Atem is not unreasonable. I'm sure if you talked to him, he'd be more understanding."

Atem knew his grandpa was shaking his head right now, just like he knew what he would say next. "At first he was more obedient, but now he's becoming more reckless and rebellious. I wish I knew what to do."

But what happened next Atem didn't see coming. "He is desperate to prove himself and desperate to learn and make me proud, and I am proud of him, but every time he leaves the house I can't stop thinking about him being hurt. I know I'm too overbearing now, but I can't help it! What if he – he - "

"You cannot live his life for him, Yugi." Aknamkanon said gently.

"No, no, you don't understand!" Atem had never heard Yugi so emotional before. "I never told you but Atem - " Yugi stopped talking at this point.

Atem's heart was pounding at this point. He waited eagerly for someone to continue. While he was waiting, he started looking around. The lights from the living room only partly illuminated the shadows in the hallway, and there was one corner that was totally pitch black.

Wait a minute. That corner should be lit. Why was it so dark?

To Atem's horror, the shadows slowly formed into a familiar green-eyed furry creature. "Kuriboh!" Atem hissed. "Go away!" He must have summoned him unconsciously so that he could hear his parents and his grandpa better.

Now that Atem had finally noticed it, Kuriboh started jumping up and down. Atem thought about running out there and grabbing it, but then Yugi started talking again.

"I'm tired, Aknamkanon. I will talk to you later about this." Yugi said strangely. Oh no, Atem thought. He had noticed Kuriboh too.

Atem closed his door and threw himself into his bed. His heart threatened to jump out of his chest as Yugi's footsteps got closer and closer to Atem's room. Atem threw the covers over his head and tried to relax.

"Kuri, kuri!" Kuriboh chirped. Atem had forgotten about it!

"Hello Kuriboh," His grandpa said. "Did Atem close the door on you?" He asked kindly.

Kuriboh chirped sadly. Then Atem's door opened and Yugi let Kuriboh into Atem's room.

"Good night Atem." Yugi said, and then the door closed again. Atem sighed. He was so close to finally knowing what Yugi had been hiding from him for so long.

Atem stopped thinking when Kuriboh face-planted itself onto his face and burrowed into the blankets. Sleep it is, then.

* * *

When Atem woke up the next day, it was to the horrible sight of his grandfather sitting in his chair, flipping through his notebook. Atem remembered all the perverted doodles he and Akefia had drawn instead of taking notes, and jumped out of bed to snatch the notebook away.

"Sit down Atem," Yugi ordered. Atem was still too embarrassed to look his grandpa in the eye, so he sat down without his usual bout of glaring.

"Mind telling me what motivated you to be so stupid yesterday?" Yugi spat out. Immediately Atem's anger came back full force, red hot in his chest until it burned into his brain.

"Stupid? What, I didn't want you to babysit me while I went after Gaia?" Atem jumped out of bed.

"I told you it was too dangerous, and you disobeyed me. You aren't strong enough to control Curse of Dragon - "

"I am strong enough!" Atem yelled back. Yugi was standing too now.

"You are not strong enough! But instead of training you insist on chasing after the next monster without even thinking! Don't you ever use your brain?!" Yugi shouted.

"I was fine without you, until you showed up! I had everything under control - "

"Your friends were almost killed for your stupidity Atem, and if you don't stop behaving like this -" Yugi kept going.

"You're always in my way -" Atem started yelling over him now.

Atem knew, in the back of his head, that he would regret this. Atem also knew that, in the back of Yugi's head, Yugi also knew that he would regret this as well. But Atem knew, knew! - that he was right, and that Yugi was wrong even if he believed he was right.

"You should have never gotten these powers!" Yugi roared.

Atem snapped. "I hate you! You do nothing but ruin my life!" He shouted at Yugi.

Aknamkanon and Nebetah burst into the room. "What is going on?" Aknamkanon asked. "Atem, are you yelling at your grandpa?"

Atem knew he would regret this. Yugi wasn't talking anymore.

"He's not my grandpa! He's just some creepy overprotective guy that follows me around because you let him! "You're my parents! You're supposed to take my side! Yugi is taking over my life and you all just let him!" Atem ranted.

"Atem - you can't talk to him like this - " Aknamkanon stammered.

"What would you know? You're never here!" Atem yelled at his dad.

"ATEM!" Yugi roared. Everyone in the room fell silent. His grandfather's face was stormy now, eyes like lightening. Yugi grabbed Atem's arm and started dragging him out of the room.

"Let me go!" Atem struggled but Yugi pulled harder and Atem had to relent to Yugi's strength. Atem was pulled down the hallway and into the basement. Yugi flicked on the light and shoved Atem harshly into the middle of the room.

"How dare you," Yugi hissed, "your parents work day in and day out to support you and you repay them like this?"

Yugi stalked forward and Atem flinched. "You disrespect the monsters by treating them like conquests instead of comrades." Yugi said coldly.

Atem turned away but Yugi grabbed his chin and forced him to look him in the eye. "And you would rather get your friends killed than swallow your damn pride." Yugi spat.

Aknamkanon and Nebetah ran into the room just as Yugi stepped back three times and raised one arm.

"You do not deserve the powers you have been given. You give me no choice, Atem." Yugi said.

"What...what are you going to do?" Atem asked.

"I'm going to seal away your powers." Yugi replied.

"NO!" Atem yelled.

"SILENT MAGICIAN! SPELLBINDING CIRCLE!" Yugi shouted. Atem released his powers too and tried to summon a monster, any monster, but before he could focus he felt Yugi's magic pushing him down. Light blinded him in every direction. He could hear his parents yelling for him and smell the burning in the air, but other than that he knew only instinct.

He pushed back. Hard. Familiar tendrils of magic shot out of his hands, as wrathful as the words that had poured out of his mouth. For a second the foreign magic was pushed back, and Atem got a moment's reprieve from the hateful light. Then a figure formed out of Yugi's magic and Atem fell to his knees. Atem could only watch, frozen in shock as his magic was pushed away into the shadows and Yugi's light sharpened into a green circle around his body.

Then like a flash of lightning, Atem's powers disappeared. He screamed in frustration.

When the light finally died down and the smell of burning disappeared into the morning air, Atem finally raised his head. He knew his parents were still here but he had eyes only for Yugi, the man who had cried when he was born. Yugi, who now towered above him with a terrible expression on his face.

"Let me know when you decide to grow up." Yugi said quietly. His eyes looked empty, his face made of stone. "Now come get breakfast."

Atem staggered up. He did not look at his parents.

* * *

Atem was furious. Without even thinking, he snagged Akefia and Mahad's arms the second he saw them at school.

"Mana!" He yelled before turning around and heading out of school again.

"Where are we going Atem?" Mahad asked.

Akefia wrenched his arm out of Atem's hold. "Are you ditching school?" He hissed. Mana and Mahad gasped.

Atem turned to them. "I have to defeat Gaia, and I have to do it before Yugi starts following me again. He'll think I'm in school, it's the perfect time to find Gaia." He growled.

"Oh, he's 'Yugi' now? You fought with your grandpa again, didn't you?" Akefia sneered. Atem pushed Akefia backwards and walked off again.

"Atem!" Mahad yelled. The three of them chased after Atem.

_I'll show Yugi…I'll show him that I can do this even without my powers!_

The kids soon found themselves in the Duel Monsters world, but this time they found themselves in darkness. Atem pressed his feet into the earth as he walked.

_Come find me, Gaia._

"I don't like this…" Mana whimpered.

"Then turn back. I don't have time to babysit you today." Atem said coldly.

"Atem!" Mahad yelled.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Akefia grabbed Atem's shoulder and forced him to turn around.

Atem felt his eyes prickle with tears. "Yugi sealed my powers." His friends gasped.

"What?" Mahad asked. "How can he seal your powers? I thought he didn't have powers."

"He does have powers. He lied to me." Atem said. "I always thought he was like you three and could only summon Gandora, but today he summoned a monster called 'Silent Magician' and sealed my powers with 'Spell-Binding Circle.' Now I can't use my powers!"

"Then how can you fight?" Mana asked.

"How are you supposed to defeat Gaia without your powers?" Akefia snorted in disbelief.

"That's why you three are going to help me. I don't have to have my powers, I just have to say Gaia's name when he's weakened. You guys can do that, right?" Atem kept marching forward.

His friends didn't answer.

"Didn't you say you wanted to get better Mana?" Mana nodded hesitantly.

Atem continued. "And you always say you can be better than me." He said to Akefia. "Well, here's your chance to prove it." Akefia took the bait.

"Looks like we're catching Gaia today then." Akefia replied. Only Mahad was still against the idea.

"Atem, don't do this. It's too dangerous." He pleaded.

"You want to go back to school, then go. I'm going to catch Gaia." Atem replied stubbornly as he kept walking. Mahad looked like he'd rather rip out his own arm than go back to school.

"I can feel shaking on the ground," Mana whispered. Atem and Akefia whirled around to try and spot Gaia.

"Last chance Mahad. Still want to turn back?" Atem asked.

"Are you gonna be a chicken or not?" Akefia taunted.

Mahad let out a long breath. "Fine." He snapped. "Akefia and I will fight with Gaia. Mana, you protect Atem." Mahad said shortly.

"I don't need protection," Atem said.

"You don't have powers. Are you going to beg Gaia to not skewer you?" Mahad shot back.

Suddenly Gaia burst out of the forest and soared over their heads with a triumphant yell. The kids scattered.

"DIABOUND!" Akefia screamed. He punched the air in front of him and Diabound appeared, arm already swinging with deadly accuracy.

"MAGICIAN OF ILLUSIONS!" Mahad yelled. Diabound's fist connected with Gaia, who flew backwards and slammed into the tree.

"Dark Burning Attack!" Mana yelled, and her magician raised her staff and shot black flames at Gaia. But Gaia was atop his horse again and swung one of his spears in a huge arc. Mana's magical flames danced on his spear as Gaia roared and raised his spears back up.

"He's going to charge!" Atem yelled. Gaia rushed forward. With a gigantic boom, the trees around them exploded and caught on fire.

"Oops." Mana said quietly.

"Shit." Akefia cursed. "DIABOUND! HELICAL SHOCKWAVE!" Diabound raised its arms and blasted wind at Gaia. Slowly it started forcing Gaia backwards.

Atem could see Gaia's aura slowly disappearing. "He's weakening! Attack!" He yelled. Mana and Mahad ran forward.

"Dark Magic Attack!" They called as their magicians peppered Gaia with balls of light.

Atem started pulling into himself now, to find the willpower necessary to control Gaia. He felt his own aura begin to ripple out of him and Atem retreated into his mind.

He found himself in an impossible labyrinth, a labyrinth where stairs led you to nothing and doors gave you no answers. He knew he could wander here forever, lost inside his own mind and in the depths of eternal darkness. He had to be careful. Any wrong step and he'd be gone forever.

_Concentrate…Gaia…Gaia…_

Atem started walking, and held onto Gaia's image while he let his feet lead him where he needed to go. He turned twice and walked up the stairs.

_Almost there…_

Atem reached out for the door handle and opened it. Inside was a single table and a few golden trinkets inside. Atem walked in and picked the gold up.

Puzzle pieces.

He grabbed another piece and fit the two together. Then he grabbed another one.

_Focus on Gaia…solve the puzzle…_

With a click the third piece slotted into place. One more piece. Just one more…

A scream ripped him out of his own mind and the puzzle fell apart. Atem gasped and looked around just in time to see Diabound finish flying through the air and land on some trees. With a triumphant roar, Gaia turned to Akefia and smacked him with his spear.

"Akefia!" Atem yelled. Akefia flew through the air and crumpled against a tree before dropping to the ground.

"AKEFIA!" Mana yelled. Mahad threw himself forward as Magician of Illusions charged up for another attack but Gaia simply raised his arm up and threw his spear through Mahad's ka. Mahad screamed and dropped to the ground.

"Take Atem and run!" Mahad yelled at Mana. Mana grabbed Atem's arm and pulled. Atem fought against her.

"No! We can't leave them behind!" He yelled. "Mahad! Akefia!"

Mahad had staggered up with a wild look in his eyes. "You will not hurt Atem." He said before raising both arms above him. He and Magician of Illusions started glowing ominously.

Gaia trotted backwards and then leaned forward with his spears pointed forward. If Gaia charged him again, Mahad knew he was done for. One last chance.

"DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" Mahad screamed. He poured all his last energy into his magician, which began to grow bigger and bigger. Atem watched in amazement as the magician's shadowy face started to become clearer and clearer. With a courageous yell, Dark Magician fired a huge blast at Gaia, who screamed as it shattered into pieces.

"Mahad!" Atem started running for his friend, but then a shockwave from where Gaia once stood shot out and knocked both Mahad and Atem off their feet. Light from the heavens blasted down and they had to shield their eyes. The column of light suddenly then expanded outwards, and lightning blitzed the field. One strike hit Dark Magician and both him and Mahad crumpled to the ground.

"MAHAD!" Atem and Mana yelled. Mana summoned her magician again and the two kids stared in horror at their new adversary. A familiar horseman riding on a dragon.

"Gaia the Dragon Champion." Atem whispered. But how? Where did Curse of Dragon come from?

To Atem's dismay, other monsters he had previously defeated started appearing from the woods. Celtic Guardian, Silver Fang, Beaver Warrior, Feral Imp, Koumori Dragon, even Mystical Elf appeared. With a puff of smoke, Kuriboh also appeared with the group. It spotted Atem and ran towards him.

"Kuriboh," Atem said. Kuriboh stopped in front of him and valiantly tried to glare the other monsters down. Gaia began to fly towards him and Mana jumped forward.

"Dark Burning Attack!" She yelled and her magician charged at Gaia. Curse of Dragon opened its mouth too and red hot flames fired out of its mouth at Mana. Her magician disintegrated and Mana hit the ground with a pitiful crunch.

She had broken her leg. Atem ran forward and stood in front of her. "Leave her alone!" He shouted. "It's me you want! Don't attack her!"

The creatures all stalked forward, until at last Gaia approached him on its own. Then it spoke.

_Atem._

Atem gasped.

_You have dishonored us with your behavior. We have deemed you unfit to be our new master. Once we battled alongside you with pride and dignity. Now we are the playthings of children. We will not stand for such insult._

Atem watched in horror as the monsters all readied themselves for battle. He didn't have any powers. All his friends were hurt now because of him. As Gaia raised his spears he dropped to his knees.

_I'm sorry, Yugi._

"GAIA!" Yugi burst into the clearing, clutching one side and panting hard. Gaia turned towards him just as Kuriboh ran to Atem, squealing in fear.

"Please, forgive him, Duel Monsters. He is young and reckless. I will teach him to be better."

_We warned you._

"I know," Yugi said wearily. "But he is a stubborn child." He admitted. Atem's shame settled deep in his gut at those words.

_Perhaps with a harsher punishment, he will learn. _

Yugi straightened up. "You'll have to defeat me first." He announced. After a few moments of silence, Gaia spoke.

_So be it._

Gaia and the other monsters charged at Yugi, who dropped into a crouch and brought his arms up. A shimmer of light appeared just as Gaia brought his spear down. Atem heard a bang and light shot out from Yugi and struck the other monsters, bringing them down.

_Mirror Force._

Yugi slowly stood up, his knees shaking. He shot a look at Atem. "Stay there." He ordered. Then Yugi steeled himself.

"GANDORA, DRAGON OF DESTRUCTION!" Yugi yelled and the monstrous black and red dragon appeared. It screamed at Gaia, who screamed back.

Yugi raised one arm and focused on Gaia. "BOUNDLESS GIGA RAYS!" Gandora exploded in a flood of red light, and Atem watched as the rays pierced through Gaia's armor. Gaia the Dragon Champion shattered and everything fell silent.

Atem rushed to Mana who was cradling her leg with her face streaked with tears. "It's okay, little sister, it'll be okay." Atem said kindly, using her little sister nickname to try and calm her. "We're going to get you to the hospital, ok?" Atem pulled out his cell phone and started dialing. Already the Duel Monsters world was fading away now, leaving them in a local park by their school.

Then Yugi crumpled to the ground like a puppet without strings. Atem almost tripped on his own shoelaces running over to him.

"Grandpa!" Atem shouted. Yugi had blood running out of his nose and he was turning pale very quickly. "GRANDPA!"

Atem heard a car door slam. He kept trying to shake Yugi awake. "Grandpa, Grandpa!"

"Hello?" Atem's emergency call had been picked up, but Atem didn't answer. "Hello?"

Aknamkanon grabbed Atem and pulled him away from Yugi just as Nebetah picked up Atem's discarded cell phone.

"Three teenagers with major injuries and a collapsed senior. One girl has a broken leg, one boy hit his head and the other boy is having a hard time breathing." Nebetah reported swiftly. Aknamkanon clutched Atem to him, crying. Atem continued to stare in shock at Yugi.

"I need to call their parents," Nebetah said. She didn't look at her son.

* * *

Mahad, Mana and Akefia would all recover. Akefia had gotten a concussion and would need to be monitored. Mana had broken her leg, but would soon be going back home. Mahad had broken his ribs and would need to stay in the hospital longer.

Atem sat by Yugi's side, still as a rock. Yugi had mysteriously lost a lot of blood, and it hadn't just been from fighting Gaia. Atem thought back to this morning. Did it cost Yugi every time he used magic? Is that why he was always so weak and tired afterward?

Atem reached out and grabbed Yugi's hand just as his parents came in and sat down in front of him. "Atem," Aknamkanon said. Atem looked up.

"Your mother and I have no clue what's going on with you. You ditch school with your friends and they all end up in the hospital." Aknamkanon said. Atem flinched.

"The doctor said that if we had been a minute later, Yugi would have died from his blood loss." Aknamkanon continued. Atem was shaking now.

"I don't care what your problem with your grandfather is anymore. Since the only person who understands what's going on is Yugi, from now on you listen to him. You will stop rebelling and you will stop disobeying him. I forbid you from disrespecting him in any way." Aknamkanon ordered.

"From now on, Yugi takes you to school, and Yugi picks you up from school. Then you train with him for however long it takes for you to get these powers under control."

"I'm grounded?" Atem whispered.

"Not just that. Yugi will have complete say in your life until he deems you ready to be on your own. We won't be helping you if you disagree with Yugi in any way."

At Atem's shocked face, Aknamkanon shrugged. "It's not like you have anything else to do besides go to school. I'll be surprised if your friends still want to be your friends after the stunt you pulled today." Aknamkanon replied. He then stood up and walked out of the room.

Nebetah handed Atem back his cell phone. "Call us when Yugi wakes up." She said simply before following her husband out of the room.

* * *

Yugi did not wake up until late in the afternoon the next day. Atem had slept fitfully in the chair beside him, his hand still clenched tightly around Yugi's.

Yugi spoke in a raspy voice. "Are you hurt?" He asked weakly.

Atem shook his head. "Your friends? Any permanent damage?"

Atem shook his head sighed. "I wish I could take your powers away permanently." He said. When Atem didn't react, Yugi looked carefully at him.

Atem stared resolutely down at their clasped hands. "What's wrong?" Yugi asked.

"Dad…dad said I'm grounded until you're done training me. I can't hang out with my friends anymore." Atem started.

"What else?" Yugi prodded.

"He also said…that you make the decisions in my life now." Atem said. Yugi sighed and removed his hands from Atem's grasp. Atem began rubbing his eyes angrily. Yugi ignored him.

"You'll have to start all over," Yugi stared out the window as he spoke. "The monsters judged you unworthy. You've got a long way to go."

Atem smushed his face into Yugi's legs, shaking. Yugi gently put his hand on Atem's hand and didn't comment as Atem cried into the hospital sheets.

_I wasn't strong enough, _Atem despaired, _why wasn't I strong enough?_


	3. Chapter 3

Let The Darkness Come

Chapter 3

Atem had no idea how long he had been crying out there in the backyard. Yugi stood on the other side of the backyard, Silent Magician and Silent Swordsman flanking him. Atem's knees buckled and he fell into the rainy, muddy grass. His monsters were weak, flickering imitations in comparison to Yugi's solid Duel Monsters, and after all his monsters were decimated Atem wanted to just tear down Yugi's stupid monsters and his stupid face -

"Get up! We're not finished yet!" Yugi shouted. Atem wanted to just cry more, but he had expended all his energy hours ago.

"Please stop Grandpa, I'm tired!" He cried, rubbing his eyes. Silent Swordsman stalked forward and Atem wildly threw out his arms. A winged blue dragon appeared for a second, but Silent Swordsman sliced through the flickering image easily.

"I can't – Grandpa!" Atem was knocked backwards from a blast from Silent Magician. He tried to get up but then just crumpled back into the mud.

"Stop fighting Atem," Yugi ordered. Atem yelled in frustration.

"I need to sleep! I'm tired!" The sky had long turned cold and dark. Atem felt the heavy rain soak into his bones.

"Stop fighting." Yugi ordered. Silent Swordsman raised his sword again and Atem jumped to the side.

"Grandpa!" Atem yelled. His parents had gone to bed ages ago. No one would stand up against Yugi on his behalf.

"Stop fighting."

What did that crazy man even mean? Atem lurched forward a bit, anger replacing his crying for a bit. "Don't attack me then!" He put his hands out and tried to force his magic out again.

"Stop fighting." Yugi ordered, eyes cold and hard as stone.

Stop fighting. Silent Magician and Silent Swordsman walked closer and closer. Atem tried to stem his crying and squeezed his eyes. Was he going to die? Would his parents care –

_Stop fighting._

Atem let his tears fall and dropped his shoulders. He heard the wooshing of a sword coming down at him, before a large clang made him jump back. Through his teary eyes, he saw golden light pouring out of him and into Big Shield Gardna, which easily deflected the blow with his shield.

Silent Magician and Silent Swordsman disappeared, before finally Big Shield Gardna also disappeared. Atem stayed in his spot while Yugi walked over and wrapped an arm around Atem's waist to steady him.

"Time for bed, Atem." Yugi said quietly. He slung one of Atem's arms over his shoulders and half-carried him in. Atem slumped against Yugi's shoulder and let his grandfather lead him into the house.

"I hate you," he said weakly when Yugi returned from the bathroom with a warm cloth. Yugi helped Atem out of his muddy clothes and into warm pajamas.

"I'll get out of your hair when you're done with your training." Yugi said calmly.

"When is that?"

Yugi tucked Atem into bed and gave him a look. "When you're stronger than me."

* * *

Atem ran out of the class before the bell even finished ringing. He narrowly dodged Akefia in the hallway. He did not look at his friends.

They had come back to school weeks ago, but Atem still had not said a word to any of them. _When I'm strong enough, _he thought, _I'll be friends with them again. _

Atem sprinted out of the school and made a beeline for the familiar dark blue Honda Accord. He jumped into the shotgun and threw himself around in the seat so he could chuck his backpack in the back and grab the bag lunch of snacks Yugi had brought for him. Being a growing teenager was expensive. He grabbed the sandwich and immediately stuffed the corner into his mouth.

"Why didn't you bring chips?" Atem whined with his mouth full.

Yugi snorted. "Dinner is in a few hours."

"But I get hungry."

Yugi sighed and then opened the passenger compartment. Atem whooped and grabbed the chips.

"Hey, where are we going? Home is that way." Atem said after a few minutes of stuffing his face. Yugi continued making wrong turns and shot Atem a look.

"I think it's time to meet our new friends, don't you think?"

"I'm not sure if I'm ready though - " Atem babbled nervously.

Yugi stopped him. "If I say you're ready, you're ready."

Atem wiped his mouth and put the rest of the food back into the paper bag.

* * *

A colliseum. Atem was in a colliseum. Around him the crowds roared and chanted for bloodshed. He turned around and spotted his grandfather behind him. He started relaxing.

"Get ready." Yugi ordered as the air in front of Atem started shifting. Atem stepped back a bit as a blond woman with red and purple armor appeared in front of him.

"Queen's Knight." Atem said.

"Atem!" Yugi yelled.

Atem threw his hands up to the air. "BREAKER THE MAGICAL WARRIOR!" The familiar glow of summoning magic started to shape Breaker in front of him, but then the still-forming image of Breaker flew backwards and connected with Atem. Suddenly, he was wearing Breaker's red armor and carrying his sword and shield.

"Grandpa!" Atem yelled.

"Prove you're worthy, Atem. Fight!" Atem raised his shield up and braced himeslf as Queen's Knight brought her sword down. The clang that resounded from the hit nearly shook Atem's legs out from under him.

"Move!" Yugi yelled. Atem barely dodged the second swing. Queen's Knight screamed at him, a wordless challenge.

"Breaker is stronger, Atem! Don't forget!" Yugi shouted.

Atem yelled back at Queen's Knight and charged. "AAAAAAAAA!" With all his might he swung his sword down and connected with Queen's Knight's blade. Atem disconnected his blade and swung again. Queen's Knight blocked it again. Atem swung again, and again, and each time it was blocked. But he could see now, Queen's Knight was getting tired.

"Now!" Atem yelled and swung his shield into Queen's Knight's arm, knocking the sword out of her hand. He pointed his sword at her throat and the crowds around them erupted in victory cheers for Atem.

Atem smiled and staggered back. "Don't relax Atem!" Yugi shouted in warning.

Atem whirled around just in time. "King's Knight!" He yelled. Atem grabbed his sword with both arms and swung hard. With a terrible bang King's Knight was swept to the side and Atem fell backwards.

His arms were shaking from the blast. King's Knight was much stronger, but Atem had to believe that he could win. Atem charged at King's Knight, but before his swing could connect King's Knight disappeared.

"Final Challenger, Atem!" Yugi yelled. Atem stared as King's Knight was replaced with a young man with blue and silver armor and a huge sword.

"Jack's Knight." Atem also knew that his strength was the same as Jack's Knight. With fresh passion he threw himself at Jack's Knight. Their swords connected again and again. Atem tried to knock Jack's Knight's head off and just narrowly missed his feet getting skewered. He tried to simply run the monster down by running at him with his shield up but Jack's Knight kept dodging and then going in for Atem's open back.

Atem retreated to the side where Yugi was standing and Jack's Knight retreated to the opposite. Atem braced himself on his knees and tried to catch his breath. "Use a spell, Atem." Yugi called out. "Don't just try to attack!"

Atem focused inward and slowly changed his magic. Meanwhile Jack's Knight started to run towards Atem. Atem ignored him and focused on the shadows pooling in his hands. Atem imagined a large jewel suspended on a thin black chain. When it became solid, he put it on and felt his strength surge.

"Go, Atem!" Yugi shouted. Atem swung his arm out as Jack's Knight reached him and knocked both him and his sword away. Breaker disappeared from Atem and he approached Jack's Knight unarmed and unprotected.

"I win, Jack's Knight." He said loudly. Then Atem leaned down and offered a hand to Jack's Knight. "Will you fight with me?"

Jack's Knight grabbed his hand.

* * *

Atem had never been so terrified in his life. He'd almost died multiple times while fighting Duel Monsters, he'd gotten into some terrible arguments with his parents and Yugi, and he still didn't dare face his friends. But nothing, nothing compared to this.

"Yugi!" Atem yelled in desperation. Berformet and Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts chased after him, growling and running so fast that their images were beginning to blur even to Atem.

"Don't be afraid, Atem." Yugi shouted as encouragement. Atem looked back at the monsters' gleaming red eyes and sharp, shiny teeth and started running harder. He almost screamed when Berformet and Gazelle overtook him and he had to stop himself before he ran straight into him.

"Face them, Atem. Don't be afraid."

Easy for him to say, Atem thought. Beformet growled and Gazelle roared to the heavens. Berformet joined in and for a few minutes it was just Berformet and Gazelle roaring and screaming in tandem.

Finally they stopped and Atem's feet turned to lead as the humongous beasts stalked towards him. Atem wanted to pee his pants.

Gazelle leaned his muzzle closer and closer to Atem as Berformet raised one of his four arms and reached out towards him. Out of recklessless Atem put one hand on Gazelle's head. Both beasts froze.

Yugi started snickering behind him. Gazelle roared and tackled Atem to the ground, squishing his sixteen-year-old frame beneath his humongous body. Atem heard a low steady rumble from Gazelle's chest. Wait, were they…cuddling?

"Grandpa!" Atem cried in panic. Berformet curled him beside him and started licking his head like a cat. Atem tried to get away from Berformet's rough facial hair but Gazelle pinned him down.

"They're very loyal, you know. Don't you think they deserve a reward for such good behavior?" Yugi said above Atem's head.

Atem felt Gazelle's huge meaty paws on his shoulders. "Grandpa!"

Yugi held a card out to Atem. He looked at the familiar swirls on the spell card and pushed his magic into it. "Fusion!" He called out. Gazelle and Berformet disappeared to form an even larger monster, two-headed, golden furred, horned and winged.

"Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast." Atem said. Then he yelped as Chimera butted both heads into Atem's chest and squished him again.

"Try riding them later. I'll see you at home!" Yugi called as he walked off. Chimera started purring again, its huge wings flapping in happiness so hard it was getting dust everywhere.

One of Chimera's heads tried to lick his head again and Atem swatted Chimera off of him. "Come on," he grumbled. "I want to see if you can actually fly." Atem barely had any time to get his butt on top of Chimera before it roared and raced off into the sky.

* * *

Yugi and Atem walked through the Duel Monsters world carefully. Dark shadows chased after their heels as their environment swayed and contorted from some unknown force on them.

"Are you ready?" Yugi asked. Atem nodded.

"Call him then." Yugi ordered. Atem began releasing his magic.

"Come forth, my monsters!" Atem cried out. "Celtic Guardian! Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!" Yugi stepped back as Atem's monsters appeared in a flash of light.

Celtic Guardian and Winged Dragon moved forward. "Duel Monster, come out!" Atem yelled. Everyone looked around. Atem huffed. Their environment was nothing but dark shadows, undulating tendrils slowly forming a tall leather-clad man with long black hair and a large staff.

"Magician of Black Chaos," Atem said. He approached the now solid magician. "I have come to present myself as your new master. If I challenge you and win, you will swear loyalty to me and serve until the end of my days. Is that agreeable?"

Magician of Black Chaos stared down at Atem, and then nodded. "Attack!" Atem yelled and Magician of Black Chaos jumped backwards as Celtic Guardian and Winged Dragon flew over Atem.

"Be careful!" Atem yelled to his monsters. Magician of Black Chaos swung his heavy staff and fired off two attacks. Celtic Guardian and Winged Dragon retreated to Atem's side.

"Now! I sacrifice my monsters to begin the Black Luster Ritual!" Atem yelled. He willed the fire pots into existence. Celtic Guardian and Winged Dragon jumped in and the fires lept up, higher, higher. Atem struggled to keep the ritual intact. Magican of Black Chaos had recovered meanwhile, and was now aiming his staff at Atem.

Atem's hands were shaking now. He was running out of power. Slowly his arms began drooping down from exhaustion and the weight of the magic he was attempting.

_Black Luster Soldier, _Yugi had told Atem, _is not a monster you can battle. This monster can only be summoned with a ritual of fire, so you must also win its respect through trial by fire. I cannot help you in those trials, but your monsters can. When you sleep tonight, the ritual will begin. Be ready. _

Atem thought of the many trials he faced with his duel monsters: fighting off evil spirits, working together to solve puzzles and get past seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and finally showing Black Luster Soldier his potential and strength in a battle.

All of his battles with the Duel Monsters spirits were about him proving his strength, but never more so than now. He had to summon Black Luster Soldier. He had to.

Atem felt Yugi clap a hand on his shoulder. "Relax," Yugi said. "You can do this. I am with you." Atem breathed out and let his shoulders drop. Immediately he could feel the sudden surge of magic within him, traveling out through his hands and into the slowly solidifying image of Black Luster Soldier. It was like his body was suddenly lit by the hot desert sun, his magic burning away all traces of doubt and fear inside of him.

Atem smiled. Yugi was still holding onto him. "BLACK LUSTER SOLDIER!"

* * *

Atem sighed and checked the clock again. It was eleven already. Why hadn't Yugi returned yet? The winter sky had long gone dark and Atem had actually finished his homework before the last minute, for once.

He sighed. Yugi had dropped him off at home before disappearing on his own. Atem had enjoyed the rare family time he had gotten with his parents at dinner, but Yugi's absence still nagged at him. Something was wrong.

Why was he worried about Yugi? His grandfather could clearly take care of himself much better than Atem could, and they still didn't have the best of relationships. But somehow between Yugi's strict training, the fact that he was still grounded, and Atem's self-imposed isolation from his friend, Yugi had been the only person Atem had any meaningful relationship at all. They weren't affectionate, but Yugi could make small talk about the news and the weather or about the family and Atem would talk back. It was something, wasn't it?

Perhaps, perhaps they were friends, in the way that two kindred spirits could be friends even if they never shared any secrets or personal thoughts. Yugi would never talk about himself and as a result neither did Atem. But they lived together day in and day out, and had gotten their own rhythm as a result. This meant that Atem felt Yugi's absence keenly now.

Atem had just grabbed his phone and jacket when Yugi stumbled into the door on shaking legs and looking close to death. "Grandpa!" Atem ran to him and helped him to the sofa.

"Where were you? What happened?" Atem said after he brought Yugi a cup of water and the first aid kid. Yugi pinched his bleeding nose and Atem ran for some tissues too.

"Nothing you need to worry about. I'm fine." Yugi said sluggishly. Atem was about to let it go when he saw the bloodstains on his grandfather's shirt.

"You have blood on your shirt and you look like a zombie." Atem shot back. He tried to reach for Yugi's clothes but Yugi smacked his hand away.

"Go to bed Atem." Yugi ordered. He tried to hide the card in his hand away but Atem noticed first. He snatched the purple card from his hand.

"Valkyrion - " Atem started to read but Yugi forcefully grabbed it back.

"Go to bed Atem, and leave me alone!" Yugi almost shouted.

"I'm trying to help!" Atem argued.

"I don't need your help!" Yugi threw away the bloody tissue and grabbed the water. Atem stared at Yugi in shock before he threw the tissue box onto the coffee table and ran away.

_I thought we were friends._

(And in this way, two years passed.)


	4. Chapter 4

Let The Darkness Come

Chapter 4

Seventeen-year-old Atem groaned at the sound of his alarm clock. 6:30 AM. If he didn't get up now, Yugi would wake him up and that'd be even worse.

The last time Atem had tried to oversleep, he had had to excuse himself from PE that day because his body was so sore. Yugi was merciless.

Atem threw himself out of bed and grabbed for the nearest shirt. He groped into the pile of neatly folded laundry that Yugi had finished and left in his room last night and pulled out a clean pair of socks. He slipped on his shoes and stumbled out.

His stomach begged him to go into the kitchen but Atem ignored it and made a beeline for the backyard. Yugi would be waiting for him.

"Good morning Atem." Yugi said. Atem didn't answer. He stopped in the middle of the backyard about five feet away from Yugi and straightened up.

"In your own time then." Yugi said casually before going back to his newspaper.

Atem focused on breathing first. In, out, in, out, in –

"GAIA THE FIERCE KNIGHT! SUMMONED SKULL!" Atem called. Gaia burst forth from Atem's magic and trotted around him, spears raised in the air with triumph. Summoned Skull appeared also, its large body rippling and crackling with lightning.

Yugi didn't look up. Atem sighed and raised his hands up again. "Alpha, Beta, Gamma! Berformet! Gazelle! Giant Soldier of Stone! King's Knight! Queen's Knight! Jack's Knight!" Atem finished summoning and lowered his hands, panting from the exertion. Yugi still didn't look at him.

"BEAST OF GILFOR! BIG SHIELD GARDNA! BUSTER BLADER!" Atem called out, adding more monsters to the already impressive crowd of restless monsters, stamping and roaring with battle lust.

Atem then knelt down and focused. These two would be the hardest for him, since they were the most recent. Yugi had gone with him like normal, but Yugi had had to add his own strength to Atem's in order to seal them away. Now it was up to Atem to show he could summon and command them on his own.

"BLACK LUSTER SOLDIER! MAGICIAN OF CHAOS!" Shadows and light mixed in the grass underneath Atem's feet; the monsters Atem had summoned before slowly disappeared to lend their strength to their new master. Finally the swirling mass of energy around Atem disappeared with a bang and Magician of Chaos and Black Luster Soldier stood proudly beside Atem.

Atem tried to catch his breath as he stared at Yugi. His grandfather was staring intently down at his newspaper, and was definitely not paying attention to him. Atem's temper rose. He jerked his hand out, releasing a few shadows, and grabbed the thing that materialized and chucked it at Yugi.

Kuriboh flew through the air and slammed into Yugi's face, crumpling the newspapers and knocking Yugi's reading glasses off. Yugi took off his glasses and straightened up to find a very-annoyed Atem.

"What is it Atem?" Yugi asked innocently as he petted a hyper Kuriboh.

"I thought we were training, Grandfather." Atem said sarcastically. His wounded pride felt a little better at how much easier it was to summon Magician of Black Chaos and Black Luster Soldier, but it was still wounded.

Yugi shrugged. "Seems like you had everything under control." He said.

"Everything under - " Atem gasped.

Yugi handed Kuriboh back to Atem. "I have nothing more to teach you Atem. Well done." He said gravely.

A hundred thoughts started flying around wildly inside his head. What should he say? What should he do? "Are you serious?" Atem ran after Yugi.

Yugi nodded. "Yes Atem, you're no longer grounded. I expect you to continue training on your own, but I will no longer dictate your life."

More questions started flying around in his head. He was free?

"Shall I take you to school Atem?" Yugi asked. Atem nodded dumbly.

"Well, you know the drill." Yugi said casually before disappearing down the hallway.

Freedom was a terrifying thing.

* * *

Yugi stopped the car in their usual car and Atem froze in his seat. Yugi gave him a sidelong look.

"We're here, Atem. You have to get out of the car now." Yugi said. Atem grabbed the door handle and stepped out of the car. Yugi turned the car towards home. Atem waited until he couldn't see the car anymore before starting off for school.

Atem's heart was pounding as he strode onto campus with his head down and hands clamped tightly around the backpack on his shoulder. He managed halfway to his classroom before his shoulder slammed into someone else. Both him and the other person fell backwards and Atem stared in horror at Mahad's face. Mahad paled before running off.

Mahad had always been the most loyal. Atem had never fought with him before. Suddenly his harsh and overbearing grandfather was child's play compared to facing his friends again.

Atem entered the classroom as the bell rang and took his usual spot in the front. In the back, Mahad and Akefia were whispering to each other. Atem pulled out his notebook and tried to ignore them.

Mana rushed in with a bang and tried to make a beeline for Mahad and Akefia.

"Mana, why are you late? It's been five minutes already." The teacher scolded. Atem saw Mana's growing panic and jumped up.

"She was helping me!" He blurted out. The whole class looked at him in confusion, including Mana.

"Helping you with what?" The teacher asked.

"With…stuff." Atem mumbled.

"Oh, really?" The professor said.

"Uh, actually I have a note from my mom." Mana piped up. Atem swore under his breath. The teacher took the note Mana handed him and read it before giving Atem a look.

"See me after class, Atem." Atem sighed and slumped back into his seat.

* * *

The teacher let Atem off with a warning and a note to take to his parents. Atem decided to quietly slip it to Yugi when he got home. He had just stepped outside when he spotted Akefia, Mana and Mahad waiting for him at the gates.

Atem approached them. "Hi." He said dumbly.

"He speaks. Thought you turned mute two years ago." Akefia growled. Mana and Mahad stood behind him, deadly silent.

Atem didn't know how to answer that. "Are you okay Mana?" He asked instead.

"Fine." Mana squeaked. Then she went back to looking at her shoelaces.

"You bastard." Akefia said. "You don't talk to us for years and then just decide you want us to be your friends again?"

"Yes?" Atem said weakly.

"Fuck off Atem. We're better off without you." Akefia flipped him off and then led Mahad and Mana away.

Atem's phone began to ring. "Do you want me to pick you up?" Yugi asked.

Atem sighed. "Yes please." He whispered.

* * *

Atem was surrounded on all sides by jagged rock. Above him the sky was colored a suffocating grey. He continued scaling the rock he was currently on, Gazelle and Berformet followed closely behind.

Atem wiped the sweat from his brow and pushed himself higher and higher. Was he going somewhere? Was he having another vision?

Gazelle and Berformet suddenly crowded into his personal space, growling and sniffing the air around them. Atem started scanning the sky as well.

A roar came from the horizon, loud and low. Gazelle roared back, the vibrations shaking Atem to his core. With a flash of light, Gazelle and Berformet combined to form Chimera and Atem jumped onto its back. Another roar came from far away and Chimera answered it with one of its own before taking off.

Atem leaned down to keep the winds from cutting his face. As Chimera flew closer and closer to the lone figure in the distance, the air got hotter and hotter. Atem could feel Chimera tiring from the heat. He needed to do something quick.

"Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!" He called out. Winged Dragon flew out from Atem's light, roaring and flapping its huge leathery wings.

"Fire!" Atem said and Winged Dragon shot itself at the figure. It loosed its jaw and two fireballs came out. Suddenly the black figure shot forward too and Atem watched in amazement as its wings decimated the fireballs.

"Winged Dragon! Drop!" Atem yelled and the blue dragon dove for the earth below them, Chimera quickly following. Atem held tightly onto Chimera's fur and turned his head around. A spiky black dragon chased after them, shrieking and roaring after Winged Dragon.

Atem they reached the ground, Chimera and Winged Dragon circled twenty feet in the air. The black dragon slowly descended down as well, glaring at Atem with beady red eyes.

"Attack!" Atem ordered and Winged Dragon and Chimera both let loose huge blasts of energy. The black dragon opened its mouth too and fire blasted out of it, which hit Atem's monster's attacks. They disappeared with a great bang and lots of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the black dragon flew up to Atem and roared, the sounds like earthquake waves through Atem's body. His body shook in awe from its tremendous strength.

"Who…are you?" Atem asked.

* * *

"Get up Atem." Yugi ordered. He threw open the window and started dragging the blankets off Atem. Atem groaned and tried to bury his face in his pillow.

"It's the weekend!" He whined.

"Get up." Yugi continued. "Just because I've stopped training you doesn't mean you can turn yourself into a couch potato."

"No one says that anymore, Grandpa." Atem said pretentiously.

"Just get up." Yugi threw some clothes at Atem, who had to catch them before they hit him in the face. He frowned at Yugi as he left. He knew he was sulking because of his friends, but Yugi had dealt with so many of Atem's tantrums over the years, so Atem let his sulking go uninhibited. He moodily put on his clothes and stomped into the kitchen.

"Atem, you're up!" Aknamkanon said happily once Atem appeared in the kitchen. He hugged Atem and pushed him to the dinner table. Atem slumped down in his seat and glared at the tablecloth. Atem knew his parents and Yugi were talking about him through meaningful glances and eyebrows behind him, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Yugi put a plate of food in front of Atem and then sat down with his own food. So they decided to just let Atem's temper run its course. Fine then. Atem started eating as messily as he could. His mother sighed mournfully.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Atem's heart thudded into his stomach. What if it was his friends? All of a sudden, his sullenness and self-doubts disappeared as his imagination ran wild with thoughts of his friends appearing with heartfelt apologies. Atem jumped out of his seat and raced to the door.

The doorbell rang again, and Atem wrenched it open. He stared blankly at the person on the other side. He looked to be about Yugi's age, with graying blond hair and brown eyes. He wore blue jeans and a thick jacket and was carrying a bottle of wine and a worn suitcase.

To Atem's amazement, the man was staring back at him. "Can I help you?" Atem asked warily.

"Joey." Yugi said.

* * *

"God, you're getting old!" Joey said loudly after he had set down his stuff.

"What are you doing here?" Yugi asked.

"I thought I'd surprise you with a visit! What, you don't have time for your best friend anymore?" Joey was grinning from ear to ear.

"Too busy with babysitting and bingo." Yugi joked back. "Joey, this is Atem, my grandson. Atem, this is my best friend Joey Wheeler."

"Nice to meet you Atem." Joey tipped an imaginary hat at him. "The last time I saw you, you were just born. Of course, I did get a few baby pictures when you were, what, four?"

"You sent him baby pictures?!" Atem stared in horror at Yugi, who was now looking quite embarrassed.

"Go finish your breakfast, Atem." Yugi ordered. Atem thought about reminding Yugi that he wasn't the boss of him anymore, but he decided against it. It wasn't entirely accurate, was it?

Yugi and Joey talked quietly for a few minutes before Yugi led Joey into the kitchen. "Did you eat breakfast yet?"

"I can always eat more food, Yugi." Joey joked.

"You're getting old Joey, you need to watch your diet." Yugi chided.

Joey ruffled Yugi's hair as if they were teenagers. "I do watch my diet! I eat what I want, and then I eat vegetables." He replied. Yugi cracked up laughing and Atem almost fell out of his chair in surprise.

Yugi, laughing. Yugi, smiling. And the other person smiling back. It must be witchcraft, Atem thought. The world must surely end if his grandfather ever smiled. _Yugi's smiled twice now_, he thought.

Atem excused himself and left for his room without looking at anyone. He felt sick.

* * *

It was evening before anyone bothered him. Atem was mindlessly clicking around on the internet when someone knocked on the door. Atem frowned. No one ever knocked.

Atem got up and opened the door to reveal Joey, who grinned at him. "Do you mind taking this old man for a walk?"

Atem grabbed his jacket and numbly followed out. When Joey didn't seem to have any ideas where to actually go, he decided to to lead the way and get them lost in the neighboring streets.

"You wanted to talk then?" Atem asked. Joey turned to him and then laughed.

"Was I that obvious?" He smiled.

Atem shrugged. "Why else would you drag me out here?" He didn't smile back.

"I don't know, maybe I really am just a silly old man." Joey said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Atem was frowning now.

"You're too clever for that." Atem said.

Joey clapped him on the back and Atem looked up at him. Joey was so strange. He was always too loud, too friendly, too quick to laugh and too quick to mess around. But Yugi was his best friend.

"What's bothering you?" Joey asked. Atem opened his mouth to reply and then clamped it shut.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "I won't tell Yugi, you know. Your issues are your own."

"Are they?" Atem asked defiantly.

"Your grandfather has told me a lot about you Atem." Joey said. "But I'm not going to tell you what he told me, and I'm not going to tell him what you say either."

An old memory floated into Atem's head. _He's not my grandfather._

Joey looked at Atem's brooding face and sighed. "You know, when you were born Yugi adored you. He was always with you, and then when you were old enough to start walking around on your own you'd never stop following him around."

"I've heard." Atem said begrudgingly.

Joey grinned. "Yugi told me that one time you wouldn't let him go to the bathroom for a whole day. Everytime he tried to you'd cry and hit the bathroom door until he'd come out. When your mother came home he practically threw you into her arms before locking himself in there for like, two hours!" Atem was bright red at this point.

"And then," Joey continued, "You started kindergarten, didn't you? You cried for a whole day and Yugi couldn't leave at all. The next day, Yugi snuck out and you followed him! You! Five years old, escaping kindergarten to chase after your grandpa."

"What's your point?" Atem asked rudely, because he too remembered. He remembered moments just like the ones Joey had described, and more after. Memories of his grandfather letting him sleep in his bed with him even after he turned ten, memories of his grandfather rocking him to sleep, memories of him sitting with Yugi trying to learn Duel Monsters. He did remember.

"What happened Atem? You two were so close." Joey sighed.

"You tell me." Atem glared at Joey and stopped. Joey stopped too. "You're his best friend."

Atem hated it. He hated how everyone always told him how nice Yugi was, how kind, how generous. His parents did it, his friends did it (except Akefia), Joey did it – hell, Google did it too! Atem could never look up famous Yugi Muto without finding articles about how humble and friendly Yugi was.

The worst - the worst were the videos. Atem would click them and he'd be subjected to seeing a young man, just as happy and carefree as Joey was. Atem found loads of happy Yugi, right up until Atem was born. He hated it.

"I don't understand why suddenly he didn't like me anymore." Atem said bitterly. Joey said nothing. "It's like one day I grew too big and suddenly he wouldn't stop trying to control my life."

"He is very protective of you." Joey said diplomatically.

"I used to believe that too, but now…I don't know." Atem admitted. "He always pushes me so hard, and he's always so cold around me, like he hates being around me, like I'm just a nuisance. He smiles around you, but he never smiles around me. I've never seen him smile at me."

Atem hesitated, and then forced the words out of his mouth anyway. "If he's so unhappy around me, he should have just left. Now no one's happy." Atem strode off as quick as he could and didn't look back. Joey didn't follow him. When he got home, his parents told him that Joey and Yugi had gone out for dinner and wouldn't be back until later. Atem couldn't bring himself to care.

Later that night, Atem was woken up by strange shuffling and huffing noises. He quietly threw off his covers and followed his ears into Yugi's room. Inside his grandfather sat hunched on his bed, smelling of alcohol and still wearing the suit he had obviously eaten at the restaurant in.

Yugi looked up with hazy eyes and saw Atem's figure, bathed in shadow. To Atem's horror, he whimpered.

"Yugi," Atem asked firmly. "Why are you drunk?" Yugi weakly reached out his arms to him, so Atem stepped forward and sat down beside his grandfather. "Yugi," Atem reprimanded.

Yugi sniffed. He wrapped his arms around Atem's waist and buried his head in Atem's shoulder. Atem sat up straighter and patted Yugi's arms awkwardly. He tried very hard not to panic about the fact that this was the first time they touched since the accident.

"I'm weak, Other Me." Yugi mumbled into his shoulder. Atem frowned. Who was he talking to? Did he have a second personality? But before Atem could run away screaming Yugi slumped down onto the bed. His eyelids opened and closed slowly as Yugi struggled to stay away.

"Other Me, you always helped me so much," Yugi said to the ceiling. "You always protected me and gave me strength to overcome all my fears. But now I don't know what to do." Yugi's voice was hoarse and trembled as he talked. Atem felt like he was looking at an alien that had stolen his grandfather's skin.

Yugi was quiet after that. Was he waiting for Atem to talk? Perhaps his grandfather was so drunk he was getting him mixed up with someone else. Screw it, he was just going to go with it.

"I can't help you with everything," Atem said bravely. "But you should stop worrying over your grandson." Atem winced. Did he just give himself away? But Yugi lay there, not moving, so Atem decided to continue. "He is strong enough to take care of himself, and you can't live his life for him."

Yugi was very quiet after that. "Yugi?" Atem asked.

Yugi's shoulders started to shake and Atem froze in place as Yugi turned his head to him, face covered in tear tracks and newly shed ones, and with eyes bright with terrifying clarity. He seemed to stare right into Atem's soul, his pain almost a tangible weight in the air.

"I'm scared," Yugi gasped. "I'm scared." Atem opened his mouth to ask what, and then Yugi's bedroom door opened. Joey slipped in, gave Atem a look and waved Atem out of the room. When Atem turned back, Joey was tucking Yugi into bed gently. Atem crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling for hours.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the late update - I had finals. A quick announcement: I'm going to add two other stories to this "Grandpa Yugi" series: "The Dead May Call" and "Messages to the Dead," or something along those lines. Both will center around Yugi again; The Dead May Call will be right after Atem leaves and will involve Yugi and some old enemies back from Season 0. Messages to the Dead will be a collection of letters Yugi writes to Atem in the "Grandpa Yugi" series. Yes, that's what it's called now.

I will try to update this story at least once a week, but if I don't update this one, I will probably have updated one of the others. Please keep an eye out for those stories as well.

Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed this story, please leave a review!

Let The Darkness Come

Chapter 5

For the first time in many years, Nebetah took Atem to school. Both Yugi and Joey were still sleeping. Atem trudged to school half-asleep and still unsure of what to do about his grandfather.

Atem yawned as he stepped onto campus. When he opened his eyes, Mana was standing before him sheepishly.

"Mana." Atem said in surprise.

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you're here early." She awkwardly shuffled her feet.

"How…how was your leg?" Atem asked.

Mana scratched her head. "It healed."

"Oh." Atem replied. "…It's okay if you're still mad at me."

Mana smiled again. "I'm not mad at you, but it is a bit awkward. I'm probably the only one you can talk to right now though."

Atem frowned. "Why?"

Mana rolled her eyes. She and Atem set off for their classroom. "You know how Akefia is with grudges, and Mahad's really hurt."

Atem stopped. "I hurt all of you though."

Mana gave him a look. "It hurt Mahad more. You really don't know why?"

Atem shook his head. "Atem, Mahad looked up to you! He was really disappointed." Mana said.

"I want to apologize." Atem replied.

Mana pulled an envelope from her backpack. "Look, I don't think a reunion's going to happen at school, so you should come to my birthday party. It's just going to be me and Mahad – Akefia's got stuff to do."

"Thanks, Mana." Atem said gratefully.

"You owe me one!" Mana waved at him as she ran back towards the gate. A few moments later, Akefia and Mahad rounded the corner. Atem ducked his head down and headed for his classroom.

After school, Atem decided to walk home. He wanted to use the time to think of something to say to his grandfather, but he ended up thinking of his friends and what he would do at Mana's birthday party. Should he bring food? What about presents? Atem hoped that Mana's parents would be there, so it'd be less awkward.

When he finally got home, he found two shady-looking middle-aged men standing on the driveway and shamelessly poking around in the front yard and trying to spy into the windows. Atem got closer and saw that one of them had greasy green hair and sported grandpa glasses and a cheap-looking shiny green trenchcoat. The other man looked like a hipster hobo, with his beanie, mismatched clothes and facial hair.

Atem didn't know why, but their faces pissed him off. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked in the most threatening way he could manage. The two turned around, blinked and walked over. The guy with green hair lowered his glasses and stared him.

"Yugi…Muto?" He asked in a whiny voice. Atem just got more pissed.

"Obviously not." He snapped back. "Who the hell are you?"

The two men looked at him like he was a bug after he said that. "You don't recognize us?" The guy with the beanie said. "Do you live under a rock or something?"

Atem sneered. "Sorry, I wasn't born in the Stone Age." The two men spluttered with anger.

"What do you mean - "

"How dare you - "

Then the green haired guy straightened up and gave Atem a greasy smile. "Oh, that's rich coming from you - "

"What's that supposed to mean? You don't know me!" Atem yelled. The two men stared at him, and then stuck their heads together to have a silent conversation. Atem just about lost his patience, but then the green-haired guy started talking again.

"My name is Weevil Underwood, and this is Rex Raptor. We're the best duelists in the world!"

Atem scoffed. "The best duelist in the world is my grandfather, Yugi Muto." He said arrogantly.

"Yugi's your grandfather?" Rex asked. "What's your name?"

"Atem." He said. They stared at him, and then Weevil walked over to Atem and started dragging him to a car on the street.

"Come on Atem, keep your grandfather's old friends company for a while?" Weevil sneered.

"Yeah! After all, we're your guests now!" Rex added. Atem thought about protesting as they stuffed him into their rental car, but then decided against it. He did want to know more about his grandfather, and maybe these two creeps could give him answers. Besides, how bad could it be? By the time they got to the restaurant, Atem was regretting his decision.

Weevil and Rex dragged him to a Chinese restaurant and bullied Atem into paying for food, so Atem handed over the credit card Yugi had given him to the waiter. When Atem returned to the table, Weevil and Rex were gorging themselves on appetizers and very expensive wine. Atem didn't know whether or to be angry or impressed.

"I didn't know Yugi married." Weevil said when Atem sat back down.

Atem snagged a spring roll and slumped in his seat. "He didn't." He answered.

"…You do know how babies are made right?" Rex said.

Atem turned red. "Yes, I do know how sex works! I'm not a kid!" He almost-yelled. Weevil and Rex just chuckled at him.

"Yugi and my dad are friends, so he's just part of the family now." Atem added defiantly.

"…Who named you then?" Rex asked.

Atem stared at him. "What?"

"Who named you? I'm just curious!" Rex continued when Atem gave him an incredulous look.

Atem shrugged and stuffed more food in his mouth. "My parents. My dad's Egyptian." He explained. Weevil and Rex grimaced at Atem's chewing.

Atem swallowed his food. "How do you know Yugi?" He asked as he slurped on noodles.

Weevil took a big drink of his wine. "Rex and I were the reigning champions in Japan, until Yugi showed up. Pegasus Crawford, the guy who made Duel Monsters, held a tournament called Duelist Kingdom and Yugi defeated me in the first round."

"Yugi's friend, Joey Wheeler, defeated me the same day. We never placed after that." Rex said bitterly. Atem smiled at them cheekily when he heard of their defeats. Weevil and Rex looked at each other for a second. It seemed as if each was daring the other one to do something. Finally Weevil relented and turned back to Atem.

"You know, there was always something funny about Yugi." Weevil half-whispered to Atem. Atem leaned forward begrudgingly. "Rex and I always suspected Yugi's title had more behind it than just him winning a tournament."

"What do you mean by that?" Atem demanded.

"No one had ever heard of Yugi before Duelist Kingdom, but all of a sudden we hear that some random kid beat Seto Kaiba, the reigning duelst of that time. He just came out of nowhere and wouldn't stop winning." Rex explained.

"Maybe you all sucked." Atem shot back.

"No, no, no." Weevil kept going. "That guy never lost. He was way too lucky. It was almost like…magic." He finished dramatically.

Atem burst out laughing. What a dumb idea, he thought, it's not like summmoning Duel Spirits could help you win a duel. Yugi would never cheat anyway.

Weevil looked furious at Atem's outburst, but Rex quickly wracked his brain and started talking again. "Maybe it wasn't magic, but we do believe he had outside help."

Atem snorted. "How many times have you guys dueled him?"

"A…a few times." Weevil muttered.

"I bet you two have tried everything to win. My grandfather has done countless duels; that's not cheating, that's called being the best." Atem grabbed another spring roll and pointed it at them as he kept talking. "If Yugi really was smart enough to cheat his way to the top and never get caught for it, he deserves the title anyway."

Weevil huffed while Rex stole the plate of spring rolls away from Atem so he would stop mocking the two men with them.

"You guys aren't really Yugi's friends, are you?" Atem said in a serious tone.

"Of course we're Yugi's friends?" Weevil shrieked.

"What makes you say that?" Rex asked.

"None of Yugi's real friends have anything bad to say about him, ever. They just keep telling me about how great he is and how wonderful he is." Try as he might, Atem couldn't hold back his feelings. Now it was his turn to sound bitter about Yugi.

Unfortunately, Weevil and Rex noticed and Atem shrunk back as they focused on him with newfound energy. "What's your grandfather like Atem?" Weevil asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"He's…strict. Not much fun." Atem bit out.

"Yeah, Yugi always had a stick up his ass, and he was always an arrogant piece of work." Weevil started ranting. Rex shot him a vaguely panicked look but kept quiet. "He might be nice to you at first, but he was brutal while dueling. He always acted like he was better than everyone else. He had a terrible temper too. One time we were dueling he got so mad he said he was going to kill me! He was like a different person while dueling."

A strange quesy feeling settled in his stomach but Atem couldn't resist asking for more. "I want to duel, but my grandpa wouldn't let me before." Atem said. He kept out the part about him being grounded for two years.

"Aren't you in luck?" Weevil sneered. "There's a new tournament coming up, which is why Rex and I are in town. You should compete and see how you do."

"I want to win. I want to be better than Yugi." Atem announced.

Weevil pulled out a flyer from his back pocket. Atem ignored the coffee stains on it and eagerly unfolded it to read.

"It's called the Legacy Tournament, because they invited a bunch of duelists from the older generations to participate. Who knows, maybe you might even get to battle Yugi Muto." Weevil explained.

"And even if you don't," Rex added, "they've confirmed that the winner will get to duel Seto Kaiba, your grandfather's old rival. That's pretty good too."

Atem stood up and grabbed his backpack. "Thanks for the information. I'm heading out."

"Remember kid, you'll have to beat us first." Weevil pointed at himself while grinning maniacally.

His enthusiasm was contagious enough where Atem smiled too. "I'll be able to do it in my sleep." He said before crossing the threshold.

Weevil sat back down after Atem left and turned to Rex. "Holy shit. That was the Pharaoh."

"Long Live The King." Rex raised his glass half-mockingly and drank. He burped and wiped his mouth. "What a little shit."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Yugi asked once Atem had gotten home.

"Where's Joey?" Atem asked.

"He left at noon. Where were you?"

"I was out with my friends." Atem answered. "Where were you last night?"

"I didn't know you still had any friends." Yugi said.

"I didn't know you were still the boss of me." Atem shot back. He immediately felt a hot surge of embarrassment. Why on earth did he and Yugi always have to fight in order to show any concern for each other?

"I may not be 'the boss' of you anymore, but I am invested in your wellbeing Atem." Yugi said as he made the most exaggerated and dramatic quotation marks in the air ever. Atem would've laughed if Yugi didn't look so serious.

"I promise you, I'm fine." Atem said as diplomatically as he could. "Why were you drunk last night?"

Fear flitted across Yugi's face. "You should have been asleep by then. You heard us come in?"

Atem blinked. "Do you remember anything of last night?" He asked slowly.

"No. Did I say anything to you?" Yugi asked, visibly panicking now.

Atem decided to lie. "No, you're just a noisy drunk. It's okay, it was only a few minutes."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you." His grandfather sighed in relief.

Atem decided to push his luck. "What were you…crying about?" When Yugi looked like he'd rather cut out his own tongue than tell him, Atem pushed a bit more. "You can tell me, you know. You've helped me a lot, and I feel like I should return the favor?" It couldn't hurt to be a little sweet, could it?

To Atem's horror, Yugi's eyes seemed a bit watery now. "Just, old memories." Yugi managed.

Atem panicked and fled. "I've got a lot of homework to do now, Grandpa. I'll talk to you later!" As quick as he could Atem fled to his bedroom and closed the door.

So it wasn't the most graceful of exits, but it was progress. Plus, it was clear now that Yugi needed time on his own and time to take care of himself. That wasn't going to happen so long as he felt like he was still responsible for Atem.

_I'll beat Yugi, _Atem thought. _I'll win the tournament and beat Yugi and prove that I've become stronger than him. And then he can go take care of himself._

* * *

He knew where he was. He knew this neighborhood now. The bleached sidewalks and the chain link fence on the side and the pitiful looking trees between the two. He had walked this path and seen this sight a hundred times, a thousand times, hundreds of thousands of times and he would leave and return again and again. And here he was. The same winds that had happened to him before and would happen to him in the future whipped him with unnaturally cold air, and he felt small and weak in the aging body he now knew.

The storms continued to rage.

How long had he wracked his brain for a chance to avoid this? How many years, how many moments? How much time had he wasted in fear of this future? How much of his precious, precious time with the boy had he thrown away so that the boy would have a chance to grow up into a man?

Lightning sparks so brightly, but it only lasts a moment.

Then the roaring began again and he could feel the earth beneath him answer back as his body trembled with terror at the sounds.

"Please, tell me what I need to do! Please!" He yelled. Thunder roared above him as the crowds turned darker and darker, rolling like the waves of the sea.

Chosen One.

Yugi didn't bother answering. He turned around instead, and faced Atem. How many times had he dreamed this already? Yet it still hit him with fresh pain each time to see Atem's tear-streaked face.

"I don't know how to help you," Yugi said to Atem instead. Atem started screaming but Yugi didn't listen. "I don't know how to help you," He repeated.

"I don't know how to save you from your burden." Yugi sobbed. Lightning struck the ground and Yugi flinched and fell to his knees. Yugi stayed in the dream long enough to see the Egyptian Gods descend from the heavens and enter Atem's frail and mortal body. Atem was lit with a terrible light for a few moments and then the power of the gods slowly started to burn his flesh away. His skin and muscles peeled off in blackened bits and Yugi could only watch in horror as Atem crawled towards him, still burning and still recognizable.

"You promised you would save me," Atem moaned. Yugi clamped his hands down on his ears.

"You promised…" Atem grabbed onto Yugi's arms with rapidly disintegrating bones. He stared at Yugi with a half-burnt face. "You promised…"

Yugi screamed.


End file.
